Apostolic Constitutions

(CE:179b-180a)
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS, a vast canonical and liturgical work circulated in Christian antiquity under this name from the end of the fourth century, but without the name of the author. It is a reworking from several sources, composed by a Syrian. Books 1-6 have as their base the DIDASCALIA, which is here adapted to contemporary institutions, with some of its prescriptions weakened. Book 7 contains three parts: Chapters 1-36 are a development of the DIDACHE; Chapters 33-38 contain five prayers, which were perhaps inspired by Jewish prayers; Chapters 39-45 give a baptismal ritual in which borrowings from the APOSTOLIC TRADITION can be recognized, here very much developed. The book ends with various appendices in Chapters 46- 49. Book 8 is also composed of three elements: Chapters 1-2 constitute a treatise on the charismata, which must have as its basis the one that preceded the text of the Apostolic Tradition; Chapters 3- 46 rework the Apostolic Tradition, except for the ritual of initiation, already given in Book 7; finally, Chapter 47 gives a series of eighty-five canons, in which the author appears to have relied on various sources.
The author seems to have been an Arian, and the work shows clear traces of this. The work must have been compiled after the Council of CONSTANTINOPLE in 381, for its eighty-five canons were inspired by it, but before the council in the same city in 394, for the latter recalls this work.
The eighty-five canons of Book 8 were circulated in Coptic under the title Apostolic Canons, and the text has come down to us. The canons were edited by a P. de Lagarde, which was the pseudonym for Paulus Böetticher (1883). They were freely translated into Arabic and form the Canons of the Apostles (canons 1-56 of Book 2, ed. and trans. J. Périer and A. Périer). Without doubt, a Coptic translation existed, for fragments are known (Leipoldt, 1904; Lefort, 1911).
An epitome (abridgment) of Book 8 of the Apostolic Constitutions had been compiled in Greek, edited as the Apostolic Constitutions by F. X. Funk (1905, Vol. 2, pp. 72-96). In the Sources chrétiennes edition (Metzger, 1985-1986), this epitome has not appeared. It is taken up in part in the Coptic Ecclesiastical Canons and hence indirectly into Book 2 of the Canons of the Apostles.
Some parts of the Apostolic Constitutions exist also in Arabic translation in the Octateuch of Clement, with an arrangement different from that of the Syriac recension.
Finally, Books 1-6 are translated into Arabic and are called Didascalia of the Apostles (Hafiz Dawud, 1924, 1940, and 1968).
RENÉ-GEORGES COQUIN

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(CE:179b-180a)
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS, a vast canonical and liturgical work circulated in Christian antiquity under this name from the end of the fourth century, but without the name of the author. It is a reworking from several sources, composed by a Syrian. Books 1-6 have as their base the DIDASCALIA, which is here adapted to contemporary institutions, with some of its prescriptions weakened. Book 7 contains three parts: Chapters 1-36 are a development of the DIDACHE; Chapters 33-38 contain five prayers, which were perhaps inspired by Jewish prayers; Chapters 39-45 give a baptismal ritual in which borrowings from the APOSTOLIC TRADITION can be recognized, here very much developed. The book ends with various appendices in Chapters 46- 49. Book 8 is also composed of three elements: Chapters 1-2 constitute a treatise on the charismata, which must have as its basis the one that preceded the text of the Apostolic Tradition; Chapters 3- 46 rework the Apostolic Tradition, except for the ritual of initiation, already given in Book 7; finally, Chapter 47 gives a series of eighty-five canons, in which the author appears to have relied on various sources.
The author seems to have been an Arian, and the work shows clear traces of this. The work must have been compiled after the Council of CONSTANTINOPLE in 381, for its eighty-five canons were inspired by it, but before the council in the same city in 394, for the latter recalls this work.
The eighty-five canons of Book 8 were circulated in Coptic under the title Apostolic Canons, and the text has come down to us. The canons were edited by a P. de Lagarde, which was the pseudonym for Paulus Böetticher (1883). They were freely translated into Arabic and form the Canons of the Apostles (canons 1-56 of Book 2, ed. and trans. J. Périer and A. Périer). Without doubt, a Coptic translation existed, for fragments are known (Leipoldt, 1904; Lefort, 1911).
An epitome (abridgment) of Book 8 of the Apostolic Constitutions had been compiled in Greek, edited as the Apostolic Constitutions by F. X. Funk (1905, Vol. 2, pp. 72-96). In the Sources chrétiennes edition (Metzger, 1985-1986), this epitome has not appeared. It is taken up in part in the Coptic Ecclesiastical Canons and hence indirectly into Book 2 of the Canons of the Apostles.
Some parts of the Apostolic Constitutions exist also in Arabic translation in the Octateuch of Clement, with an arrangement different from that of the Syriac recension.
Finally, Books 1-6 are translated into Arabic and are called Didascalia of the Apostles (Hafiz Dawud, 1924, 1940, and 1968).
RENÉ-GEORGES COQUIN